PA applying to medical school

[kelly]

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Any comments on a PA going on to medical school? How is this viewed by schools? Comments.....?

 

[mermaid]

I'll end up being a registered nurse when I apply. I've never known any PA's who decided to go to med school.

[This message has been edited by mermaid (edited 10-09-2000).]

 

[gower]

PAs, PTs, nurses and some other non-doctoral health professions workers do get accepted to medical school. HOWEVER, if they did not take science major's level biology, general chemistry, organic chem, and physics, they will have to take them to be eligible for any of the doctoral health professions schools. If they did take those courses, and they were taken more than about five years ago, many med schools will probably want at least some of them retaken or perhaps some recently taken biol major level courses added, and maybe biochemistry. Non-major level science courses do not meet admissions requirements. Most medical schools require MCATs taken no more than 2 or 3 years ago; 2 or 3 depends on individual schools' requirements.

 

[Mango]

I think it's a great idea to work in any health care field before pursuing med school!

LAST TIME I PROMISE!

 

[pcl]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by kelly:
Any comments on a PA going on to medical school? How is this viewed by schools? Comments.....?•

Why did you choose to become a PA if you really wanted to go to medical school? Did you do a M-PA or a B-PA?

I only ask because PA schools will tell you that they don't want people to think of their schools as just a way to get into med school, that they want PA's committed to the PA profession.

Also, it seems like double work since you will have to re-take all the clinical courses you took as a PA. I'm not knocking PA's here, I have a lot of respect for the ones I have worked with and shadowed. I investigated both options, probably because I cared more about being a clinician than having a specific title, but decided that an MD/DO approach would be most suited for me.

The only thing I would think of that would be negative would be the question of why are you switching when you are already practicing medicine? I think it would be similar to an NP or CRNA going to med school. Why would one do that? the two reasons that come to mind are money or ego. If you can't stand the PA salary, or you can't stand being a dependent practitioner, by all means, go for it.

If you haven't enrolled in PA school yet, you might want to consider nursing - ONLY because it is great patient experience, you will witness the medical model vs. nursing model, and you can make great money being a contingent nurse if the money situation ever gets tight in med school.

Good Luck.